Past, Present, Future?
by Lirpa Eus
Summary: Ryou Bakura reflects on his past and tries to just survive in his present; however, the arrival of a familiar stranger may alter his future.


Entry for the Super Fun Deathship Drabble Contest hosted by #creampuffsandcardgames and #maariku.

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 **Past, Present, Future?**

 **By LirpaEus**

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He sat on the couch, alone in his cold, dark apartment.

The sounds of the season, of music, of laughter, of cheer, drifted through the walls. The bright holiday lights twinkled through the window between the closed curtains. The smells of goose, of roasted chestnuts, of meat pies, of cakes, and of pies filled the room, even though his own oven was cold.

A small tear rolled down his cheek.

He thought back to a happier year. _The tree stretched so high it almost touched the ceiling. Little Ayame, dressed in a pink dress, ran around the room and giggled as she clutched a little white haired doll. His mother and father sat close on the couch and laughed with them. Once all the presents under the tree were unwrapped and the eggnog in Mother's cup was gone, Father pulled out one more wrapped box and handed it to him. After the wrapping paper was torn, he could only stare at the golden object in the box, a gold pendant in the shape of a ring with a triangle eye._

" _I purchased it during my last trip to Egypt…just for you. Do you…like it?"_

 _He threw his arms around the older man. "Papa, I love it! I'll always wear it!"_

 _I love it!_

His hand slowly touched his left arm where a long scar remained.

 _I love it!_

The memory of the Millennium Ring as it fell into a pit of darkness flashed through his mind.

The tears fell a little faster.

He heard a soft knock on his door and ignored it.

The apartment was close to work but contained few personal effects. He knew the refrigerator was empty not due to a lack of money but a lack of effort. It took all he had just to get up in the morning, put on his fake happy mask, and head to the museum.

The knock became louder and he heard a muffled call. "Delivery."

He sighed and ran his sleeve across his wet cheeks before he slowly crawled off the couch. He opened the door and it took him a moment to realize who stood before him. With a tiny gasp, he swiftly attempted to shut the door but a large foot jammed the opening.

"Finally found you…Fluffy-"

Ryou stumbled backward and landed on his behind.

A soft cackle echoed as the figure crossed through the small apartment's entrance. He turned, locked the door behind him, and took one extra moment to thread the security chain. "Can't be too careful. Too many crazies in this town," he laughed. He quickly shook his head and sprayed half the room with melted snow. His blonde gravity defying hair quickly popped up as he stomped his snow covered boots on the doormat.

Lavender eyes glanced at the map in his hand, a large red X marked their current location, before he carelessly tossed it to the side. He slid the black backpack from his shoulder and placed it in front of the locked door. His gaze finally turned to the fallen figure and slowly approached as one hand slowly unzipped the puffy dark purple jacket.

"How…How are you here?"

"How do you think?" He shrugged out of his jacket and threw it on the couch. He looked around and scowled at the darkness. With a huff, he strolled over to the windows and threw back the curtains to allow the bright holiday lights to shine through. "Marik brought back that Ring-Spirit from the shadows. I hitched a ride." He roamed into the kitchenette and opened random doors only to frown at the empty shelves. "They've been bitching at each other so much, I decided to visit my little Fluffy."

"The…spirit is…back?"

"Wait until you see how short he is," he sniggered before he peered into the fridge and wrinkled his nose. The personification of darkness pulled out an outdated half gallon of milk and a single bottle of water. "Really? All you have is this and one box of tea?"

"Just kill me or go away."

He stomped back to where Ryou still sat on the floor and sunk to his knees. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Why do you care?" Ryou suddenly found strong arms around him, pulled up and pressed tightly against the darkness incarnate in a desperate hug.

"Why? I don't know," he spoke into Ryou's hair. "I keep asking myself that. Damn those two bastards. Why do they love each other? Why do I have to be like him?" He gently squeezed. "Why does my heart hurt when…you hurt?"

It took Ryou a long moment to respond. "You don't even know me," he whispered.

The darkness took a deep breath. "I was there when Marik placed part of our soul inside of you. Later, I watched you…when you slept…on the blimp. In the shadows, that damn spirit kept telling me stories about you." He shrugged. "I know you…a little."

"Oh…" He trembled. "You might know me," Ryou whispered, "but…I don't know you."

Silence.

"Well, to start, Marik gave me my own name," he finally said.

Ryou pulled back to stare at his face. "You…have a name?"

"Kek. They named me Kek."

"Kek." He slowly reached one hand up and ran it through the damp spiked hair. "Kek," he repeated.

His look became dejected. "It was a joke. They were making fun of me. Just another reason I had to leave."

"I like it."

"Yea?" Kek nervously scratched behind his head. "Want to learn more? About me?"

Ryou took a deep breath…and finally smiled. "Yes."

* * *

Under a large blanket, Ryou rested on the couch under Kek's arm as they looked outside at the holiday lights. Two slices leftover from a delivery pizza next to two empty tea cups remained on the coffee table.

Ryou happily sighed, his belly full, his hands finally warm. "Hey, Kek…do you want to know what your name really means?"

"Huh?"

"It means Laughing Out Loud. For a name, it really does suit you."

He was quiet for a long moment. "Really?"

"Yea."

He grinned broadly. "Thanks…Creampuff…"

Ryou closed his eyes, rested his head against Kek's chest, and listened to his heartbeat. _Maybe,_ he thought, _my future doesn't look so bad._

-End-

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Thank you Sitabethel for all your wonderful fanfictions and my introduction to Kek! =)

Thank you Kamy2425 for the wonderful artwork for inspiration! (Little TK!)

Thank you Vaguelygenius for your awesome 3D prints!


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